At this year’s IPCPR Trade Show in New Orleans one of the major stand-out cigars was the Matilde Oscura. (See my IPCPR Coverage.) There were plenty of cigars that people were talking about going into the show, but by the end of the show the newest cigar from Jose Sejas’ Matilde Cigars was one that nearly everyone was talking about. The Matilde Renacer was an impressive cigar (especially for an initial outing), but the Matilde Oscura takes things to a whole new level. Jose Sejas has done a magnificent job with this cigar, and it is sure to be a perennial favorite of cigar enthusiasts everywhere.

Pre-Light: A very dark Mexican San Andres wrapper give the Matilde Oscura a very appatizing look to it. The green Matilde band has an “S” formed from tobacco leafs just like the Matilde Renacer. (Since Altadis has the rights to the Sejas name, the “S” is about all they can get away with putting on the band.) A secondary band of the same color sits below the primary one. The green color really makes the band stand out against the dark wrapper of the cigar.

There is an earth and leather aroma to the San Andres wrapper, with just a hint of something like latex. From the unlit foot of the cigar there was a mixture of cocoa, leather and earth notes. The cold draw allows through flavors of chocolate, raisins, and spices.

Burn: The Matilde Oscura Toro has a perfect draw, and allows through a ton of flavorful and aromatic smoke. There’s a pleasing floral and spice aroma to the burning cigar. The burn on the Matilde Oscura is extremely even from beginning to end, and a beautiful grey ash clings firmly to the cigar.

Flavor: There is a very quick raisin note that disappears into a sweet earthy start to the Matilde Oscura. Not too far into the cigar, the earthiness is joined by subtle (but distinguishable) notes of cocoa. An inch into the Oscura is where the flavor really begins to get interesting. A mix of white and black pepper and floral spice begin to join existing earth and cocoa notes. On the retrohale, there is a pleasing interplay between white and black pepper with cocoa. As the Oscura transitions into the second third, there is a bit of anise that mingles with the earth, pepper and spice. There’s a wonderful aftertaste of floral spice and white pepper during this part of the cigar. Cocoa, earth, oak and nutmeg remain in the background behind the spice/pepper mix. The transition to the final third sees a meaty earthiness begin to dominate the flavor profile, with just enough white and black pepper to bring to mind a well seasoned wood-grilled steak. The meatiness only grows during the final inch and a half of the cigar, and is joined by increase in strong black pepper. This is a very complex cigar, that should age very well.

Overall: The Matilde Oscura is a great cigar. After the first day of the IPCPR, Adam K “The Brewmeister” of Kiss My Ash Radio told me, “I smoked it to the nub, and wanted to go back to get another the second I was done.” When I finally got to try the Matilde Oscura, I had roughly the same experience. The Matilde Oscura is an extremely complex flavorful cigar. There is a good deal of cocoa, spice, earth, pepper and wood flavors to the cigar. It is both different and similar to many other Mexican San Andres cigars. Medium to full bodied smokers will find the Oscura well worth the price (which is surprisingly reasonable). Personally, the Matilde Oscura is sure to be a regular fixture in my humidor for some time to come. The Matilde Oscura is one of the better new cigars I’ve smoked this year.

Pairing: The Matilde Oscura will pair well with a fine sipping rum such as the Zafra 21. An unpeated Islay single malt such as the Bunnahabhain 18 will pair very nicely with the Oscur. I personally enjoy an Abita Root Beer with this cigar from time to time.

Some of the cigars for this review were provided by Jorge Ahued of Stogies World Class Cigars in Houston, Texas. Jorge is a good friend, and his generosity is always appreciated, however it does not effect the way this cigar is reviewed. At Toasted Foot we provide impartial cigar reviews to our readers.